Jessica’s POV

“It took you long enough, child,” the Moon Seer said through the mindlink.

I first met Dahlia during a grand pack gathering where the Moon Seer was invited as an honored guest. We talked between ceremonies, her questions sharp yet kind, and before the night ended, we exchanged mindlinks out of mutual fascination. From then on, we spoke often, sharing thoughts, lessons, and secrets until our friendship became my quiet refuge.

“I always wondered when you’d realize that Alpha Johan was never meant for you. You’ve been wasting your gift on a man who only saw you as a rebound.”

“Rebound,” I repeated. The word rebound cut sharper through the link than any blade.

“I told you before, Jessica. I warned you, but you never believed me.”

“I think I knew all along,” I admitted softly through the link. “I just didn’t want to face it. I kept telling myself he had forgotten Suzette.”

“I’m happy you’re finally leaving him,” Dahlia said next. “You have so much potential, Jessica. Even if Johan gave you a position in his pharmaceutical empire, you’d never grow there. He was hiding you, using your formulas, your genius, and letting LunaSkin Bloom take all the credit.”

I’d told myself I was helping him, building something together. But now I saw it clearly. He’d been building himself using my light.

“Why now, though?” Dahlia asked curiously, her tone turning softer in my head. “Why wake up from a one-sided bond only now?”

My chest ached. “Because he had marked another she-wolf as his mate.”

The link went quiet. Dahlia’s curiosity deepened. “Why?”

“Because she’s dying.” The words tasted strange on my tongue.

The seer’s sigh came softly through the link. “Ah. So the Moon Goddess has cursed her own deceit.”

I swallowed hard. “He swore before the Council that he would care for her until her final full moon. He said he owed her that, for the mistakes of their youth. But it doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

“No,” Dahlia agreed quietly. “It never does.”

After we spoke, my eyes drifted to the Moonstone Charm Chain hanging by the hearth. It was made from stones I gathered under each full moon while praying for Johan to recover.

Yes, recover.

Because three years ago, he had gone after rogues and came back torn and poisoned by silver.

I begged the Dark Spirit Healer to save him, even if it cost me everything. I gave him my soul-bone, something no wolf should ever give away. Without it, I could no longer shift.

But at least, he lived. And he promised that in our tenth year, he would make me his Luna.

When he was healed, he forged the moonstone charm into a chain, saying it symbolized devotion.

Now, it only mocked me.

When I reached to take it down, my elbow bumped a photo frame. The glass shattered, revealing two photographs inside.

Two?

I crouched to gather the fallen pictures. One showed Johan and me, taken a decade ago on the night he swore I was his forever.

But the second photo stole the breath from my lungs. It was Suzette and Johan. Suzette’s smile glowed beneath the moonlight, while Johan stood behind her with one arm draped around her waist, his eyes shining with the tender devotion I once believed belonged to me.

Below the photo, scrawled in Johan’s bold script:

Farewell, my love.

The date was marked beside the night of Johan’s healing under the full moon. That was hours later when he arrived at my door with a bouquet of moonroses and declared me as his intended mate.

My fingers trembled as I held the photo.

All of Johan’s tenderness over the years turned to ice in that single breath.

I wiped my face and forced myself to move.

As I threw on a shirt and leggings, I couldn’t help but ask this: Why would he mark me if he already had a mate?

I chuckled bitterly. Of course it was because of LunaSkin.

I was the mind behind his empire, the hidden pulse that made his name shine among the packs. It was his way of keeping me close, tying his fortune to the hand that built it.

And bonds forged for protection didn’t always awaken the mate’s pain. If he had marked me, it would register as a business claim, not a fated one.

Besides, if he marked me first, he could claim me later without his other mate suffering. The law of dual claim recognized the first mark as “legal,” as long as it was done for alliance.

When I opened my wardrobe, I chose only the things I had bought with my own money. I packed them neatly into a suitcase and tucked it away from sight, ready for the day I’d finally walk away.

Then my eyes landed on my jewelry box. Without hesitation, I called the jewelry store and asked them to collect the pieces and return them to Johan on the date I set.

When the jewelry box was gone, I gathered every gift he’d ever given me and carried them behind the manor. The servants stared, puzzled, but no one dared ask questions as I dumped them into the trash.

That night, I tried to sleep, but sleep never came.

By morning, I forced myself to look calm.

I was having breakfast on the patio when Johan returned, looking like someone who had lost the war before it began. He leaned down and kissed my cheek, but I didn’t feel the flutter I once did.

Before, I would’ve thrown myself into his arms. Now, I just sat still.

“Are you okay?” Johan asked casually. “Did you sleep well?”

I didn’t sleep at all. “Yes, I’m fine,” I said instead.

He sat across from me and reached out to touch my face. I nearly slapped his hand away but stopped myself. I couldn’t stand being touched by a man who was already mated.

“You seem pale,” he said. “What’s wrong, Jessica?” He paused, then chuckled lightly. “Oh, I know what it is. Our night didn’t finish, did it? I was supposed to mark you for our tenth anniversary.” His lips curled into a mischievous smile. “We can resume it tonight. What do you think?”

I smiled politely. “I don’t think I’m in the right shape, Johan.”

He frowned. “Oh, I must’ve made you upset. Okay, if you don’t want that, how about this. Tomorrow is the launch of our newest beauty line, LunaVeil Essentials. Why don’t you come with me? They will finally meet the Alchemist, the genius behind LunaPharma's cosmetic and fragrance line.”

I paused, my attention caught completely. Was he really serious? He had never invited me before to any launching.

“Are you sure?” I asked quietly. “You’re finally revealing me?”

Before he could answer, my phone buzzed. I frowned at the unknown number, and Johan’s brow furrowed when he noticed.

“Who’s calling you?” he asked.